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Archive for February, 2010

Our regular monthly vigil is planned for Wednesday, March 3, at 3 pm. Please join us on the first Wednesday of each month at the front gate on Highway One six miles north of Lompoc. Please do not park in the middle school parking lot, but park on Mountain View Street near the school and walk to the front gate.

Because the prosecution did not have the law he was charged with violating, Bud Booth’s February 18 arraignment was postponed until March 18, at 1:30 pm. Bud is charged with a class A misdemeanor for refusing to provide ID on November 4, 2009, when injured by the MPs. Bud is a WWII Army Air Corps veteran who flew with the late historian and author Howard Zinn. Please support Bud at the Santa Barbara Federal Court – 1415 State St., Santa Barbara, 93101. See MaGregor Eddy’s blog for further info.

The Wednesday (February 3) vigil, was peaceful. Seven people gathered outside the main gate. MacGregor Eddy was detained and cited for a bar and ban violation. Dennis Apel and Jorge Manley-Gil also were detained for failing to show identification. Dennis was held until 10:30 pm at the Lompoc jail; Jorge was released quickly since he was ID’d on Sunday.

Bud Boothe appears in Santa Barbara Federal Court, 1415 State St, 9 am, Thursday, February 18, for the November 4, 2009 witness when MP’s injured him. If you plan to attend, you must have ID and no cell phones are allowed inside the court. Please come to support Bud. Donations for legal costs can be sent to the Vandenberg Peace Legal Defense Fund, P.O. Box 5789, Salinas CA 93915. NOTE: Donations are not tax deductible as the Fund is not a 501 (c)(3).

Another vigil is planned for Wednesday, March 3. Please join our monthly vigils at 3 pm on the first Wednesday of every month, at the front gate on Highway One six miles north of Lompoc. Do not park in the Middleschool parking lot. Park on Mountain View Street near the school and walk to the front gate.

Eight people were arrested at the Sunday, January 31 witness. Participants in the witness were not allowed to gather in the designated protest area, nor anywhere near the base. Nobody intentionally “crossed the line.” The protest was dismantled and arrests were made by base security, who acted because the protest was not permitted by base commander, though the base was notified well before the gathering. (What happened to our right of “free speech”?)

In the first test of its kind involving Vandenberg, an ICBM launched from the Marshall Islands was aimed at southern California. The Ground-Based Interceptor launched from VAFB, about 60 miles northwest of Santa Barbara, lifted off at around 3:45 pm, but was not successful in shooting down the target, launched six minutes earlier from the far end of the Ronald Reagan Test Range at Kwajalein Atoll.

First to be cited were MacGregor and Dennis, both of whom have existing “ban-and-bar” notices from previous arrests. They were cited for trespass, though they were in the designated protest area and did not cross onto base property.

Judy Evered, in her 80’s, of Goleta, CA was held on the ground by two security guards with one soldier’s knee in her back. Her booking was interrupted because she had to be transported to the hospital in an ambulance for a shoulder injury she sustained during arrest. Evered is with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and is a frequent participant in ongoing vigils at Vandenberg. She was later released from the hospital, and unprocessed by authorities.

Jorge Manly-Gil, also from the Guadalupe Catholic Worker, refused to give any
information. He was last known to be held at the Lompoc City Police
holding cell.

The others arrested were given ban-and-bar letters though they were in compliance with base policy.